A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE

Artworks reflecting the ethos of a prestigious education institution demonstrate diversity and a love of learning

Located in the suburb of McKinnon, 12 kilometres south east of the Melbourne city centre, sits McKinnon Secondary College; a year 7 to 12 co-education school. Renowned for its comprehensive curriculum, McKinnon fosters a love of learning and aims to nurture creative and confident young people, setting them on a path to becoming resilient and productive members of the community.

The school’s motto, Wisdom & Service, is the cornerstone of its operation. Seeking to reinforce the core values under which the school operates, McKinnon commissioned metal art studio Entanglements to create a series of sculptural installations to be installed throughout the school grounds that would reflect those values and represent the diversity of the student cohort.

Based in Ormond in Victoria, Entanglements designs, manufactures and installs metal wall art, privacy screens, firepits, industrial furniture, gates, fences, sculptures and more, under the direction of award-winning designer Helen Neyland.

Specialists in custom metal fabrication, the team at Entanglements work closely with architects, designers, contractors and clients in a collaborative environment to produce pieces that reflect the unique needs of a project. 

At the behest of McKinnon Secondary College, Entanglements was given free rein to design and fabricate a collection of artworks, so long as they “reflected the vision, values and beliefs that are a part of the school culture”. The commission was to come in three parts: a three-dimensional sculpture, several wall art pieces and a school sign.

According to designer Helen Neyland, a challenge to the design process was the architecture of the school itself. Having grown over a number of years, the various buildings and landscaping elements that make up the campus display a variety of architectural styles. Rather than try to work with one expression over another, “Our submission looked at the individual areas between the buildings as an opportunity to draw on different themes and styles to suit each area,” Helen explained.

The largest of the pieces created by Entanglements, Sphere, was installed in the open space area in front of the school’s newly erected three-storey wing. Comprised of a series of interlocking metal rings mounted upon a concrete plinth, the large sculpture measure 1400 millimetres in diameter and features a sequence of words laser cut into the rings. These words underscore the ideals of the school: respect, integrity, resilience, community, creativity and success.

A collection of artistically rendered wall sculptures was next on the agenda, all finished in a weathered-steel look. Installed in outdoor areas underutilised by students in a bid to create a more aesthetically pleasing environment, the various pieces were designed to symbolise the comprehensive curriculum and diverse culture at McKinnon. Consisting of three panels, the Values Wall installation lists the same ideals of community, creativity, respect, resilience, integrity and success under which the school operates, in 12 languages.

Continuing the theme, a metal panel titled Brain is a play on the illustration of a phrenology model, with the words depicting the school’s values used to form a human silhouette in profile around it. A third artwork, Atom, was installed outside the sciences block and once again includes the words representing the school’s ideals tucked into the elongated rings of an atomic model.

Finally, a new school sign was created and mounted at the front of the institution. In line with the school emblem, which resembles a thistle, and touting the school’s motto of Wisdom & Service, the laser cut aluminium sign was powdercoated in a finish to resemble weathered steel to match the rest of the sculptural series.

Serving the dual purpose of increasing McKinnon Secondary College’s aesthetic appeal and reinforcing its core values, the artworks rendered by Entanglements met the project brief on every level. 

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PROJECT PARTICULARS
Client McKinnon Secondary College
Location McKinnon, Victoria
Install BV Builders
Design & Manufacture Entanglements